Jakarta Fair closes, grosses Rp 35b in sales

Jakarta Fair closes, grosses Rp 35b in sales

JAKARTA (JP): The month-long Jakarta Fair was closed last
night by Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution
Hartarto on a mixed note.

Turn-out wise, it was a disappointment with 2.2 million people
visiting the fair at the Kemayoran Jakarta Fairgrounds. The
organizers had expected three million.

Still, it was an improvement over last year's turnout of 1.95
million, but below 1994's record of 2.4 million visitors.

The organizers said the fair, which was opened by Vice
President Try Sutrisno on June 15, grossed a total of Rp 35
billion (US$15 million) in sales, with another Rp 26.2 billion
still under negotiation.

Motor vehicles recorded the highest sales with Rp 5.5 billion,
followed by household goods with Rp 4 billion, garments Rp 3
billion, and electronics Rp 2.7 billion.

Ichwan -- an official at Martha Tilaar's stand, Indonesia's
leading cosmetic producer -- said it had not been a good fair for
his company as sales were way below target.

This year, more than 2,600 companies and institutions took
part in the fair. Foreign participants came from France,
Pakistan, the United States, Iran, Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong,
South Korea, Singapore, Austria and China. The giant soft drink
Coca-Cola also had a huge stand.

Hamid Blourchy, managing director of Fereshteh Tehran Co,.
said it had been tough going for his glass decorations, but he
hoped to return next year. This is his fourth time participating
in the fair.

Hartarto in his closing remarks said the Jakarta Fair has the
potential to become a major trade fair in the Asian region. For
this to happen, he said, the organizers should improve their
professionalism and their promotion of the event.

He also suggested the establishment of more recreation
facilities in the fairground in order to attract bigger crowds.

This was the 29th fair, now an annual event held in
conjunction with Jakarta's anniversary which falls on June 22.
Next year the fair is slated for June 13 to July 12,

Soekardjo Hardjosoewito, director of PT Jakarta International
Trade Fair Corp, which organizes the event, said the biggest
problem this year was controlling street vendors and keeping them
from disturbing traffic around the fairground and the flow of
visitors.

The fair itself provided 18,000 seasonal jobs this year.
(kod/emb)